salomon



` UNITED STATES` PATENT OFFICE.

JOI-IN C. FR. SALOMON,` OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

BRICKMAKING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 10, 83 1, dated April 25, 1854.

To allwwm t may concern Be it known that I, J. C. F. SALOMON, of thecity of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Brickmaking, of which the followinO' is afull, clear, and eX- act description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification, and inwhich- Figure l represents a plan of the apparatus I employ for makingbricks, showing the same in course of operation; Fig. 2, a sideelevation thereof; Fig. 3, an inverted plan of the flue table or bedforming part of l Airectangmlar, sides united by partitions or -crossties that divide the boX into five hunldred (moreor less) molds (s) opentop and my apparatus, detached; Fig. 4, a horizontal `view or plan ofthe mold boX and an inverted plan or under horizontal view of thepressing plate, detached; and Fig. a

vertical transverse section of the mold boxA and pressing plate inconnection while forming brick. y

It is generally admitted that the several `attempts heretofore made tomanufacture measure to the complication of part-s which hascharacterized the several presses emloyed and the uncertainty of actionand iability to breakage which in practice has been found to attend allor most of such de- Vices.

To remove these defects is the object of my invention which consist-s inan arrangement of mechanical devices for assisting manual labor in theformation of the brick.

In the apparat-us represented in the acl p the mold box are of therequisite diameter to companying` drawing, a circular bed (A) oflarge-diameter is seated horizontally upon a foundation surface or table(B). A crane (C) is erected centrally within the circular` bed and hungso Vthat its jib may be made to perform a circular horizontal tra-velover the said bed. An inner and outer row or circle of vertical guides(a and b) are inserted in the bed so as to project above it. Theseguides are of reduced diameter from their top downward for a portion oftheir length so as to form a step or shoulder midway (more or less) oftheir length. The arrangement of these guides around the bed is such,that, upon a radial line being drawn from the center of the crane postcentrally between any two of the lthe required dimensions ofthe brick.,pla ten is lifted toA its situation overI the moldbox by a hook (el)attached to the main. :chain or cord of the crane and hitching into laloop (e) on the top plate of the platen, the `crane chain being raisedor lowered as required by turning in a suitable direction the winchbarrel (f.) `of the crane.

. mold boX (D), pressing plate or platen and cover (F), as representedin Fig. 1, the

said mold box, platen and cover being profvided with perforated snugs(al) that receive the vertical guides through them.

The mold box (D) is formed of vertical bottom, the upper surface of thecircular 1` bed (A) serving as the bottom to the molds when the boX issituated as in Fig. l when it is ready for filling with clay which maybe deposited by hand or otherwise into the `molds: a platen (E) is thenbrought to bear pressers c) that. lit into the molds and that,

by their weight and that of the `top plate as lalso by any looseadditional weight that may be put thereon, serve to compress the clay toThe The perforations through the snugs of admit of the box being droppedover the enlarged lower portions "of ,the vertical guides l (a and b),while the holes through the snugs of the platen are of the same diameterlOt upon the shoulders thereof,so as to reduce the depth of theimmersion of the pressers into the molds. When one'set of bricks is thusformed, the crane chain is unhitched from the platen and hitched to themold box by branch hooks, and chains (h) united to the main chain andconnecting with the mold box by loops (vl): the winch is then turned soas to lift the mold box from the bricks and leave them on the circularbed (A) as represented at m in Fig. l, the mold box in rising carryingthe platen with it. The mold box and platen thus free from the moldedbricks are then swung over the next series or sets of vertical guides byturning the crane, and the mold box being dropped over the guides isagain filled with clay, the crane hooks being unhitched from the box andthe platen raised to afford room for putting in the clay, when theplaten is again brought to bear down upon the clay in the molds asbefore and the box and platen afterward removed to the next Series ofvertical guides and so on in succession until the circular bed iscovered with parallelogramic patches or ranges of bricks on the spacescovered by the mold box throughout its operations around the circularbed.

To give a gradual pressure on the clay in the molds during the formationof the brick for the purpose of expelling moisture and increasing theconsistency of the brick, the

winch barrel is turned but slowly during the early part of thedepression of the platen and quicker toward the close. By this manner ofoperating the platen, a sounder brick will be produced, while the mostcomplete adjustability in the operation of the platen throughout itsentire stroke is afforded to suit different qualities or conditions ofclay.

VThe. circular bed (A) is made hollow and has flues in it forcirculating hot air for the purpose of drying the brick on the bed onwhich it is pressed or molded. These flues consist of an outer annularinduction and inner annular eduction flue with radial direct and returnflues uniting them, the radial flues being so arranged as to pass thecurrent of hot air immediately under the several tiers or rows ofbricks, the circular bed only intervening. VI-Iot air is blown through apipe (I) into the outer annular induction flue (fm) from whence'itpasses v through throats (n) into direct radial flues (0), it is thendiverted so as to return by other adjoining radial flues (r) and againthrough further radial flues (1") direct to the eduction flue (u) fromwhence it escapes by a pipe (y). The throats forming` the communicationof the induction Hue with the radial flues are provided with dampers (a)that serve to regulate the amountof hot Kair to be admitted and also toshut off the flow of hotair Athrough any one or more of the sets ofradial flues over which no range of bricks is situated either during theoperation of covering the bed with its several ranges of bricks orduring the removal of any of the ranges to the kiln. The return Vradialflues, it will be observed, serve to heat equally the several rows ofeach range of with a bonnet (F) that is lifted over and removed fronithem as required by means of .the crane O). This bonnet serves to retainthe heat transmitted through the bed from the flues for the purpose ofheating the tops and sides of the bricks to the same degree,

`or nearly so, as the bottoms; perforations are made in the tops of thebonnets to permit of the escape of the vapor which is emitted during theprocess of drying.

By this method of making bricks, thevarious well known facilities andadvantages of the ordinary manual process are com? bined with those ofthe machine or press system, while many disadvantages peculiar to theaction generally of the latter are avoided. The bricks are made rapidlyand dried and prepared for the kiln upon theV bed on which they aremolded with but little delay and without the labor of removal orexposure to defacement to which they are subjected in the ordinary way.

In the foregoingr description of my improvement, reference only has beenmade to the plain or ordinary building brick, but it is obvious that, bya suitable construction and arrangement of the platen and mold box, itis equally capable of manufacturing tile, hollow, cornice or any of theother well known forms of brick.

I claim- The combination o-f the swinging crane, mold-box and platen forpressing brick, arranged and operating together as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOHN O. FR. SALOMON.

)Vitnessesz V. GREGORY, A. GREGORY.

